TWiki Variables

Special text strings expand on the fly to display user data or system info

TWikiVariables are text strings - %VARIABLE% - that expand into content whenever a page is opened. When a topic is rendered for viewing, VARIABLES are replaced by data, either user-entered, or info automatically generated by TWiki (like the date, or the current username). There are predefined variables, and Preference variables that you configure. You can also define custom variables, with new names and values.

Note: To leave a variable unexpanded, preceed it with an exclamation point, e.g. type !%TOPIC% to get %TOPIC%.

Predefined Variables

Most predefined variables return values that were either set in the lib/twiki.cfg file, when TWiki was installed, or taken from server info (like current username, or date and time). Many of the variables let you format the appearance of the display results.

• Take the time to thoroughly read through ALL preference variables. If you actively configure your site, review variables periodically. They cover a wide range of functions, and it can be easy to miss the one perfect variable for something you have in mind. For example, see %INCLUDINGTOPIC%, %INCLUDE%, and the mighty %SEARCH%.

This version of TWiki - 07 May 2004 - expands the following variables (enclosed in % percent signs):

ATTACHURL -- attachment URL of the current topic

• Syntax: %ATTACHURL%
• Expands to: http://tukro.sourceforge.net/pub/TWiki/TWikiVariables
• Example: If you attach a file you can refer to it as %ATTACHURL%/image.gif
• Related: ATTACHURLPATH, PUBURLPATH, SCRIPTURL, FileAttachments

ATTACHURLPATH -- path of the attachment URL of the current topic

• Syntax: %ATTACHURLPATH%
• Expands to: /pub/TWiki/TWikiVariables
• Related: ATTACHURL, PUBURL, FileAttachments

BASETOPIC -- base topic where an INCLUDE started

• The name of the topic where a single or nested INCLUDE started - same as %TOPIC% if there is no INCLUDE
• Syntax: %BASETOPIC%
• Related: BASEWEB, INCLUDINGTOPIC, INCLUDE, TOPIC

BASEWEB -- base web where an INCLUDE started

• The web name where the includes started, e.g. the web of the first topic of nested includes. Same as %WEB% in case there is no include.
• Syntax: %BASEWEB%
• Related: BASETOPIC, INCLUDINGWEB, INCLUDE, WEB

DISPLAYTIME -- display time

• Syntax: %DISPLAYTIME%
• Expands to: 23 Dec 2024 - 16:10
• Related: DISPLAYTIME{"format"}, GMTIME, SERVERTIME

DISPLAYTIME{"format"} -- formatted display time

• Formatted time - either GMT or Local server time, depending on setting in TWiki.cfg. Same format qualifiers as %GMTIME%
• Syntax: %DISPLAYTIME{"format"}%
• Example: %DISPLAYTIME{"$hou:$min"}% expands to 16:10
• Related: DISPLAYTIME, GMTIME, SERVERTIME

ENCODE{"string"} -- encodes a string

• Syntax: %ENCODE{"string"}%
• Supported parameters:

  Parameter:	Description:	Default:
  "string"	String to encode	required (can be empty)
  type="entity"	Encode special characters into HTML entities, like a double quote into "	URL encoding
  type="url"	Encode special characters for URL parameter use, like a double quote into %22	(this is the default)

• Example: %ENCODE{"spaced name"}% expands to spaced%20name
• Related: URLPARAM

GMTIME -- GM time

• Syntax: %GMTIME%
• Expands to: 23 Dec 2024 - 16:10
• Related: DISPLAYTIME, GMTIME{"format"}, SERVERTIME

GMTIME{"format"} -- formatted GM time

• Syntax: %GMTIME{"format"}%
• Supported variables:

  Variable:	Unit:	Example
  $seconds	seconds	59
  $minutes	minutes	59
  $hours	hours	23
  $day	day of month	31
  $wday	day of the Week (Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat)	Thu
  $month	month in ISO format	Dec
  $mo	2 digit month	12
  $year	4 digit year	1999
  $ye	2 digit year	99
  $tz	either "GMT" (if set to gmtime), or "Local" (if set to servertime)	GMT
  $iso	ISO format timestamp	2024-12-23T16:10Z
  $rcs	RCS format timestamp	2024/12/23 16:10:08
  $http	E-mail & http format timestamp	Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:10:08 GMT

• Variables can be shortened to 3 characters
• Example: %GMTIME{"$day $month, $year - $hour:$min:$sec"}% expands to 23 Dec, 2024 - 16:10:08
• Related: DISPLAYTIME, GMTIME, SERVERTIME

HOMETOPIC -- home topic in each web

• Syntax: %HOMETOPIC%
• Expands to: WebHome, renders as WebHome
• Related: NOTIFYTOPIC, STATISTICSTOPIC, TOPIC

HTTP_HOST -- environment variable

• Syntax: %HTTP_HOST%
• Expands to: tukro.sourceforge.net
• Related: REMOTE_ADDR, REMOTE_PORT, REMOTE_USER

ICON{"type"} -- small icon of common attachment types

• Small 16x16 pixel icon of common attachment types. Specify file type only, file name, or full path name
• Syntax: %ICON{"type"}%
• Samples: bmp, doc, gif, hlp, html, mp3, pdf, ppt, txt, xls, xml, zip
• Example: %ICON{"pdf"}% expands to
• Related: TWikiPreferences, FileAttachments, TWikiDocGraphics?

INCLUDE{"page"} -- include other topics or web pages

• Syntax: %INCLUDE{"page" ...}%
• Supported parameters:

  Parameter:	Description:	Default:
  "SomeTopic"	The name of a topic located in the current web, i.e. %INCLUDE{"WebNotify"}%
  "Web.Topic"	A topic in another web, i.e. %INCLUDE{"TWiki.SiteMap"}%
  "http://..."	A full qualified URL, i.e. %INCLUDE{"http://twiki.org/"}%
  pattern="..."	A RegularExpression? pattern to include a subset of a topic or page	none
  rev="1.2"	Include a previous topic revision; N/A for URLs	top revision
  warn="off"	Warn if topic include fails: Fail silently (if off); output default warning (if set to on); else, output specific text (use $topic for topic name)	%INCLUDE- WARNING% preferences setting

• Related: BASETOPIC, BASEWEB, INCLUDINGTOPIC, INCLUDINGWEB, IncludeTopicsAndWebPages?

INCLUDINGTOPIC -- name of topic that includes current topic

• The name of the topic that includes the current topic - same as %TOPIC% in case there is no include
• Syntax: %INCLUDINGTOPIC%
• Related: BASETOPIC, INCLUDINGWEB, INCLUDE, TOPIC

INCLUDINGWEB -- web that includes current topic

• The web name of the topic that includes the current topic - same as %WEB% if there is no INCLUDE.
• Syntax: %INCLUDINGWEB%
• Related: BASEWEB, INCLUDINGTOPIC, INCLUDE, WEB

MAINWEB -- name of Main web

• The web containing TWikiUsers, OfficeLocations and TWikiGroups
• Syntax: %MAINWEB%
• Expands to: Main
• Related: TWIKIWEB

METASEARCH -- special search of meta data

• Syntax: %METASEARCH{...}%
• Supported parameters:

  Parameter:	Description:	Default:
  type="topicmoved"	What sort of search is required? "topicmoved" if search for a topic that may have been moved "parent" if searching for topics that have a specific parent i.e. its children	required
  web="%WEB%"	Wiki web to search: A web, a list of webs separated by whitespace, or all webs.	required
  topic="%TOPIC%"	The topic the search relates to	required
  title="Title"	Text that is prepended to any search results	required

• Example: %METASEARCH{type="topicmoved" web="%WEB%" topic="%TOPIC%" title="This topic used to exist and was moved to: "}%
• Example: You may want to use this in WebTopicViewTemplate? and WebTopicNonWikiTemplate?:
  %METASEARCH{type="parent" web="%WEB%" topic="%TOPIC%" title="Children: "}%
• Related: SEARCH

NOTIFYTOPIC -- name of the notify topic

• Syntax: %NOTIFYTOPIC%
• Expands to: WebNotify, renders as WebNotify
• Related: HOMETOPIC, STATISTICSTOPIC, TOPIC

PUBURL -- the base URL of attachments

• Syntax: %PUBURL%
• Expands to: http://tukro.sourceforge.net/pub
• Example: You can refer to a file attached to another topic with %PUBURL%/%WEB%/OtherTopic/image.gif
• Related: ATTACHURL, PUBURLPATH, SCRIPTURL, FileAttachments

PUBURLPATH -- the base URL path of attachments

• Syntax: %PUBURLPATH%
• Expands to: /pub
• Related: ATTACHURL, PUBURL, FileAttachments

REMOTE_ADDR -- environment variable

• Syntax: %REMOTE_ADDR%
• Expands to: 127.0.0.1
• Related: HTTP_HOST, REMOTE_PORT, REMOTE_USER

REMOTE_PORT -- environment variable

• Syntax: %REMOTE_PORT%
• Expands to: 58882
• Related: HTTP_HOST, REMOTE_ADDR, REMOTE_USER

REMOTE_USER -- environment variable

• Syntax: %REMOTE_USER%
• Expands to:
• Related: HTTP_HOST, REMOTE_ADDR, REMOTE_PORT, USERNAME, WIKINAME, WIKIUSERNAME

SCRIPTURL -- script URL of TWiki.Tukro

• Syntax: %SCRIPTURL%
• Expands to: http://tukro.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin
• Example: To get the authenticated version of current topic write %SCRIPTURL%/viewauth%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/%WEB%/%TOPIC% which expands to http://tukro.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/viewauth/TWiki/TWikiVariables
• Related: PUBURL, SCRIPTSUFFIX, SCRIPTURLPATH

SCRIPTURLPATH -- script URL path of TWiki.Tukro

• Syntax: %SCRIPTURLPATH%
• Expands to: /cgi-bin
• Related: PUBURLPATH, SCRIPTURL

SCRIPTSUFFIX -- script suffix

• Some TWiki.Tukro installations require a file extension for CGI scripts like .pl or .cgi
• Syntax: %SCRIPTSUFFIX%
• Expands to:
• Related: SCRIPTURL

SEARCH{"text"} -- search content

• Inline search, shows a search result embedded in a topic
• Syntax: %SEARCH{"text" ...}%
• Supported parameters: [1]

  Parameter:	Description:	Default:
  "text"	Search term. Is a keyword search, literal search or regular expression search, depending on the type parameter. SearchHelp? has more	required
  search="text"	(Alternative to above)	N/A
  web="Name" web="Main, Know" web="all"	Wiki web to search: A web, a list of webs separated by comma, or all webs. [2]	Current web
  topic="WebPreferences" topic="*Bug"	Limit search to topics: A topic, a topic with asterisk wildcards, or a list of topics separated by comma.	All topics in a web
  excludetopic="Web*" excludetopic="WebHome, WebChanges"	Exclude topics from search: A topic, a topic with asterisk wildcards, or a list of topics separated by comma.	None
  type="keyword" type="literal" type="regex"	Do a keyword search like soap "web service" -shampoo; a literal search like web service; or RegularExpression? search like soap;web service;!shampoo	%SEARCHVAR- DEFAULTTYPE% preferences setting (literal)
  scope="topic" scope="text" scope="all"	Search topic name (title); the text (body) of topic; or all (both)	"text"
  order="topic" order="created" order="modified" order="editby" order=  "formfield(name)"	Sort the results of search by the topic names, topic creation time, last modified time, last editor, or named field of TWikiForms?. The sorting is done web by web; in case you want to sort across webs, create a formatted table and sort it with TablePlugin?'s initsort	Sort by topic name
  limit="all" limit="16"	Limit the number of results returned. This is done after sorting in case order is specified	All results
  reverse="on"	Reverse the direction of the search	Ascending search
  casesensitive="on"	Case sensitive search	Ignore case
  nosummary="on"	Show topic title only	Show topic summary
  bookview="on"	BookView? search, e.g. show complete topic text	Show topic summary
  nosearch="on"	Suppress search string	Show search string
  noheader="on"	Suppress search header Topics: Changed: By:	Show search header
  nototal="on"	Do not show number of topics found	Show number
  header="..." format="..."	Custom format results: see FormattedSearch for usage, variables & examples	Results in table
  expandvariables="on"	Expand variables before applying a FormattedSearch? on a search hit. Useful to show the expanded text, e.g. to show the result of a SpreadSheetPlugin? %CALC{}% instead of the formula	Raw text
  multiple="on"	Multiple hits per topic. Each hit can be formatted. The last token is used in case of a regular expression ";" and search	Only one hit per topic
  separator=", "	Line separator between hits	Newline "$n"

• Example: %SEARCH{"wiki" web="Main" scope="topic"}%
• Example with format: %SEARCH{"FAQ" scope="topic" nosearch="on" nototal="on" header="| *Topic: * | *Summary: * |" format="| $topic | $summary |"% (displays results in a table with header - details)
• If the TWiki:Plugins.TablePlugin is installed, you may set a %TABLE{}% variable just before the %SEARCH{}% to alter the output of a search. Example: %TABLE{ tablewidth="90%" }%
• Related: METASEARCH, TOPICLIST, WEBLIST, FormattedSearch?

• [1] Note: The search form uses identical names for input fields.
• [2] Note: A web can be excluded from a web="all" search if you define a NOSEARCHALL=on variable in its WebPreferences

SERVERTIME -- server time

• Syntax: %SERVERTIME%
• Expands to: 23 Dec 2024 - 16:10
• Related: DISPLAYTIME, GMTIME, SERVERTIME{"format"}

SERVERTIME{"format"} -- formatted server time

• Same format qualifiers as %GMTIME%
• Syntax: %SERVERTIME{"format"}%
• Example: %SERVERTIME{"$hou:$min"}% expands to 16:10
• Related: DISPLAYTIME, GMTIME, SERVERTIME

SPACEDTOPIC -- topic name, spaced and encoded

• The current topic name with added spaces, for regular expression search of Ref-By
• Syntax: %SPACEDTOPIC%
• Expands to: TWiki%20*Variables
• Related: TOPIC

STARTINCLUDE -- start position of topic text if included

• If present in included topic, start to include text from this location up to the end, or up to the location of the %STOPINCLUDE% variable. A normal view of the topic shows everyting exept the %STARTINCLUDE% variable itself.
• Syntax: %STARTINCLUDE%
• Related: INCLUDE, STOPINCLUDE

STATISTICSTOPIC -- name of statistics topic

• Syntax: %STATISTICSTOPIC%
• Expands to: WebStatistics, renders as WebStatistics
• Related: HOMETOPIC, NOTIFYTOPIC, TOPIC

STOPINCLUDE -- end position of topic text if included

• If present in included topic, stop to include text at this location and ignore the remaining text. A normal view of the topic shows everyting exept the %STOPINCLUDE% variable itself.
• Syntax: %STOPINCLUDE%
• Related: INCLUDE, STARTINCLUDE

TOC -- table of contents of current topic

• Syntax: %TOC%
• Related: TOC{"SomeTopic"}

TOC{"Topic"} -- table of contents

• Syntax: %TOC{"SomeTopic" ...}%
• Table of Contents. Shows a TOC that is generated automatically based on headings of a topic. Headings in WikiSyntax? ("---++ text") and HTML ("<h2>text</h2>") are taken into account. Any heading text after "!!" is excluded from the TOC; for example, write "---+!! text" if you do not want to list a header in the TOC
• Supported parameters:

  Parameter:	Description:	Default:
  "TopicName"	topic name	Current topic
  web="Name"	Name of web	Current web
  depth="2"	Limit depth of headings shown in TOC	6
  title="Some text"	Title to appear at top of TOC	none

• Example: %TOC{depth="2"}%
• Example: %TOC{"TWikiDocumentation" web="TWiki" title="Contents:"}%
• Related: TOC

TOPIC -- name of current topic

• Syntax: %TOPIC%
• Expands to: TWikiVariables, renders as TWikiVariables
• Related: BASETOPIC, INCLUDINGTOPIC, TOPICLIST, WEB

TOPICLIST{"format"} -- topic index of a web

• The "format" defines the format of one topic item. It may include variables: The $name variable gets expanded to the topic name; the $web variable gets expanded to the name of the web.
• Syntax: %TOPICLIST{"format" ...}%
• Supported parameters:

  Parameter:	Description:	Default:
  "format"	Format of one line, may include $name and $web variables	"$name"
  format="format"	(Alternative to above)	"$name"
  separator=", "	line separator	"\n" (new line)
  web="Name"	Name of web	Current web

• Example: %TOPICLIST{"   * $web.$name"}% creates a bullet list of all topics
• Example: %TOPICLIST{separator=", "}% creates a comma separated list of all topics
• Example: %TOPICLIST{" <option>$name</option>"}% creates an option list (for drop down menus)
• Related: SEARCH, WEBLIST

TWIKIWEB -- name of TWiki documentation web

• The web containing all documentation and site-wide preference settings for TWiki.Tukro
• Syntax: %TWIKIWEB%
• Expands to: TWiki
• Related: MAINWEB

URLPARAM{"name"} -- get value of a URL parameter

• Returns the value of a URL parameter. Note that there is a risk that this variable could be misused for cross-scripting
• Syntax: %URLPARAM{"name"}%
• Supported parameters:

  Parameter:	Description:	Default:
  "name"	The name of a URL parameter	required
  default="..."	Default value in case parameter is empty or missing	empty string
  newline="<br />"	Convert newlines in textarea to other delimiters	no conversion
  encode="entity"	Encode special characters into HTML entities, like a double quote into &#034;. This is needed if text is put into an HTML form field	no encoding
  encode="url"	Encode special characters for URL parameter use, like a double quote into %22	no encoding
  multiple="on" multiple="[[$item]]"	If set, gets all selected elements of a <select multiple="multiple"> tag. A format can be specified, with $item indicating the element, e.g. multiple="Option: $item"	first element
  separator=", "	Separator between multiple selections. Only relevant if multiple is specified	"\n" (new line)

• Example: %URLPARAM{"skin"}% returns print for a .../view/TWiki/TWikiVariables?skin=print URL. Test this:
• Related: SEARCH, FormattedSearch?

USERNAME -- your login username

• TWiki makes names available in three formats: USERNAME like jsmith, WIKINAME like JohnSmith and WIKIUSERNAME like Main.JohnSmith. A user is a TWikiGuest in case the topic is not authenticated
• Syntax: %USERNAME%
• Expands to: guest
• Related: REMOTE_USER, WIKINAME, WIKIUSERNAME, TWikiUserAuthentication?

VAR{"NAME" web="Web"} -- get a preference value from another web

• Syntax: %VAR{"NAME" web="Web"}%
• Example: To get %WEBBGCOLOR% of the Main web write %VAR{"WEBBGCOLOR" web="Main"}%, which expands to #FFFFC0
• Related: WEBPREFSTOPIC

WEB -- name of current web

• Syntax: %WEB%
• Expands to: TWiki
• Related: BASEWEB, INCLUDINGWEB, TOPIC

WEBLIST{"format"} -- index of all webs

• List of all webs. Hidden webs are excluded, e.g. webs with a NOSEARCHALL=on preference variable. The "format" defines the format of one web item. The $name variable gets expanded to the name of the web, $qname gets expanded to double quoted name, $marker to marker where web matches selection.
• Syntax: %WEBLIST{"format" ...}%
• Supported parameters:

  Parameter:	Description:	Default:
  "format"	Format of one line, may include $name variable	"$name"
  format="format"	(Alternative to above)	"$name"
  separator=", "	line separator	"\n" (new line)
  webs="public"	comma sep list of Web, public expands to all non-hidden	"public"
  marker="selected"	Text for $marker where item matches selection, otherwise equals ""	"selected"
  selection="%WEB%"	Current value to be selected in list	section="%WEB%"

• Example: %WEBLIST{"   * [[$name.WebHome]]"}% creates a bullet list of all webs.
• Example: %WEBLIST{"<option $marker value=$qname>$name</option>" webs="Trash,public" selection="TWiki" separator=" "}% Dropdown of all public Webs + Trash Web, current Web highlighted.
• Related: TOPICLIST, SEARCH

WEBPREFSTOPIC -- name of web preferences topic

• Syntax: %WEBPREFSTOPIC%
• Expands to: WebPreferences, renders as WebPreferences
• Related: HOMETOPIC, WIKIPREFSTOPIC, VAR

WIKIHOMEURL -- site home URL

• The base URL of TWiki.Tukro, is the link of the Home icon in the upper left corner, defined in TWiki.cfg
• Syntax: %WIKIHOMEURL%
• Expands to: http://your.domain.com/twiki
• Related: WIKITOOLNAME

WIKINAME -- your Wiki username

• The WikiName? is the same as %USERNAME% if not defined in the TWikiUsers topic
• Syntax: %WIKINAME%
• Expands to: TWikiGuest
• Related: REMOTE_USER, USERNAME, WIKIUSERNAME, WIKIUSERSTOPIC

WIKIPREFSTOPIC -- name of site-wide preferences topic

• Syntax: %WIKIPREFSTOPIC%
• Expands to: TWikiPreferences, renders as TWikiPreferences
• Related: HOMETOPIC, WEBPREFSTOPIC

WIKITOOLNAME -- name of your TWiki site

• Syntax: %WIKITOOLNAME%
• Expands to: TWiki.Tukro
• Related: WIKIHOMEURL, WIKIVERSION

WIKIUSERNAME -- your Wiki username with web prefix

• Your %WIKINAME% with Main web prefix, useful to point to your TWiki.Tukro home page
• Syntax: %WIKIUSERNAME%
• Expands to: Main.TWikiGuest, renders as TWikiGuest
• Related: REMOTE_USER, USERNAME, WIKINAME

WIKIUSERSTOPIC -- name of topic listing all registers users

• Syntax: %WIKIUSERSTOPIC%
• Expands to: TWikiUsers, with Main prefix renders as TWikiUsers
• Related: WIKIUSERNAME

WIKIVERSION -- the version of the installed TWiki engine

• Syntax: %WIKIVERSION%
• Expands to: 07 May 2004
• Related: WIKITOOLNAME

Preferences Variables

Additional variables are defined in the preferences ( site-level ( SL ) in TWikiPreferences, web-level ( WL ) in WebPreferences of each web, and user level ( UL ) preferences in individual user topics):

Note: There are some more useful variables defined in the TWikiPreferences like %BR% for line break, colors like %RED% for colored text and small icons like %H% for a Help icon.

Setting Preferences

• The syntax for Preferences Variables is the same anywhere in TWiki (on its own TWiki bullet line, including nested bullets):
  [multiple of 3 spaces] * [space] Set [space] VARIABLENAME [space] = [value]
  Examples:
• Set VARIABLENAME = value
  • Set VARIABLENAME = value

Creating Custom Variables

• You can add your own Preference Variables for us across an entire site or a single web, using the standard Preferences syntax. Whatever you include in your Variable will be expanded on display, exactly as if it had been entered directly. You can place formatted text, page links, image paths.

Example: Create a custom logo variable the TWiki web

• To place a logo anywhere in a web by typing %MYLOGO%, define the Variable on the web's WebPreferences page, and upload a logo file, ex: mylogo.gif. You can upload by attaching the file to WebPreferences, or, to avoid clutter, to any other topic in the same web, ex: LogoTopic:
  • Set MYLOGO = %PUBURL%/TWiki/LogoTopic/mylogo.gif

-- TWiki:Main.PeterThoeny - 09 May 2004
-- TWiki:Main.MikeMannix - 12 May 2002